


Hang On to Your Ego

by longleggedgit



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-19
Updated: 2014-01-19
Packaged: 2018-01-09 08:05:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1143556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/longleggedgit/pseuds/longleggedgit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for <a class="i-ljuser-profile" href="http://crocoduck.livejournal.com/profile"><img class="i-ljuser-userhead"/></a><a class="i-ljuser-username" href="http://crocoduck.livejournal.com/"></a><b>crocoduck</b> in 2007.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Hang On to Your Ego

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://crocoduck.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://crocoduck.livejournal.com/)**crocoduck** in 2007.

Akutsu knows his mother has called Kawamura the minute he hears someone outside the door, because there are only two people stupid enough to even approach his room when he's in a mood like this, and Dan never bothers to knock.

"Fuck off," Akutsu says, which Kawamura apparently misinterprets as "Come in, please," because he opens the goddamned door.

"Akutsu?" Kawamura says, hesitantly.

"I told you to fuck off." Akutsu doesn't throw his beer bottle at him, but that's only because he's still drinking out of it.

"I know." Kawamura shuts the door behind him and takes a seat on the floor a few feet away. "How are you?"

Kawamura is giving Akutsu that look his mother sometimes gives him, the one that's supposed to express concern but is really just thinly veiled shock at how fucked up he is, and Akutsu grits his teeth and snorts.

"Swell," he says. "Really fucking dandy."

"Your mother said you weren't feeling well." Kawamura inches forward on the floor and Akutsu shifts further away. Kawamura goes still. "How much have you had to drink?"

"I'm not drunk, all right?" Kawamura looks unconvinced and this lights Akutsu's insides on fire for some reason, pisses him off to a truly unreasonable extent. It's not like he cares what Kawamura thinks about him, not Kawamura or anyone else, but _knowing_ he's casting judgment on Akutsu makes him want to punch a hole in the wall.

"Fuck you," Akutsu says. He hates Kawamura even more for looking hurt by it. "Fuck all of you. If you would just leave me alone we could all be happy."

"We're just worried about you." Kawamura frowns when Akutsu laughs. "It's the truth."

"Prove it."

Akutsu doesn't know what he's expecting, but it's not for Kawamura to take him by the wrist and tug him to his feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Akutsu growls.

"Proving it," Kawamura says firmly. He leads Akutsu over to his bed and gestures for him to sit, which Akutsu does, if only because he's curious and he's never seen Kawamura look quite so stern before. "Give me that," Kawamura says, pointing at the bottle, and Akutsu glares but hands it over.

"If you wanted some, you could have just asked," Akutsu sneers. Kawamura looks unamused.

"You're being really stupid, you know," Kawamura says. Akutsu stares and he notices that Kawamura's cheeks color and he looks a little uncomfortable, but he doesn't take it back. "You could do so much," Kawamura continues. "I don't know why you insist on doing _this_."

"The _fuck_ -" Akutsu is so taken aback he doesn't even know what else to say.

"You're good at _everything_ , Jin," Kawamura says fervently, and Akutsu actually forgets to snap at him about using his given name. "Do you even understand what it's like for everybody else? How hard people have to work to be good at the things they want to do?"

Akutsu's stomach clenches uncomfortably and he crosses his arms in front of his chest. This is fucking stupid, _Kawamura_ is fucking stupid and he doesn't want to deal with him anymore. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Kawamura sighs. "The world doesn't resent you as much as you think," he says, and he sounds suddenly weary. "If you'd just show it a little respect, it would respect you back."

"Is that what my fucking mother told you to say?" Akutsu stands up now and to Kawamura's credit, he doesn't step back. "I don't know one person who has ever done a single goddamned thing to earn my _respect._ "

He doesn't know what it means that Kawamura is suddenly wearing an expression like Akutsu just slapped him. It fades when Kawamura looks down at the bottle still clenched in his fist.

"Okay," Kawamura says. His voice is shaky, and Akutsu wonders if he's actually pissed him off that much. He'd like to see Kawamura throw a punch out of anger, just once. Kawamura doesn't. He steps back so he and Akutsu aren't chest-to-chest anymore and he rubs his neck and moves toward the door.

"I respect you, Jin," he says, right when Akutsu is about to turn away. Akutsu's shoulders go rigid and he stares at the back of Kawamura's head in disbelief. "A lot," Kawamura adds. "Maybe more than anyone."

That fucking does it. Akutsu's glad the bottle's out of his hand because he's pretty sure his fists are clenched so tightly he would have shattered it. Then again, maybe he's not so glad. "You fucking retard," he says, striding forward and kicking shut the door that Kawamura had just barely begun to open. "Why?"

Kawamura looks right back at him, not the least bit intimidated, even though Akutsu is glaring down at him with as much hate as he can possibly fit into one look, even though Akutsu is bigger and stronger and better at fighting and he could _kill_ Kawamura if he wanted to.

" _Why?_ " he repeats, leaning in so close Kawamura's back hits the door.

"If you don't get it by now, you never will." Kawamura glares back but there's no real feeling in it, and Akutsu is trying to decide if he wants to knee him in the balls or just kick him out of his goddamned house when Kawamura tenses, turns his gaze to the floor, and leans forward, enough so their faces are way too close and Akutsu can feel his breath on his cheek. Only a pussy would pull back, so Akutsu stays, even though suddenly he feels like he's going to throw up.

"What -" Akutsu says, and falters. Kawamura kisses the place where his jaw meets his neck, short and hesitant, with dry lips, and then he slips out from under Akutsu and scrabbles with the doorknob and backs out carefully.

"You should go to bed, Akutsu," Kawamura says before he closes the door behind him.

Akutsu's muslces feel gridlocked. He lifts a hand to touch the side of his neck but stops halfway and punches the wall instead.

"The name is fucking Jin," he says.

It's eight p.m. and his knuckles are bleeding and only little kids are asleep this early. Akutsu goes to bed anyway.

_end_


End file.
